When it comes to rubber stamp legislative bodies, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has only a slight edge over Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, according to a new report set to be released today by the political science department at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The county's 17 commissioners have sided with Preckwinkle 73 percent of the time when votes were divided during her first three years and four months in office, according to the study, authored by a four-person team that included Professor Dick Simpson, former chairman of the department.

@jhanzel You silly misguided low informed liberals. I would love to see Preckwinkle face Rahm and split the vote, allowing ANOTHER candidate, CONSERVATIVE, to sweep into victory, gaining all the votes of people sick of the same old corrupt Democratic party crap.

By comparison, an earlier study released by the school showed that the city's 50 aldermen voted with Emanuel 88 percent of the time during his first 20 months in office. But Emanuel inherited a much more compliant City Council from his predecessor, Richard M. Daley, than Preckwinkle had to grapple with when she took office.

"Preckwinkle took over a board that in the previous four years under former President Todd Stroger had a level of conflict approaching that of the 'Council Wars' period of the Chicago City Council," the study states, citing the contentious, racially tinged political battle that took place after the election of Mayor Harold Washington in 1983.

"Since she has been in office, the board now looks more like the 'Rubber Stamp' City Council of Rahm Emanuel, with Preckwinkle rarely losing a vote and with more agreement and cooperation with the board on issues."

"Politically, Preckwinkle sits comfortably in the Cat Bird's Seat," the study adds, noting that she ran unopposed in the Democratic primary this year. No Republican ran for her office.

Preckwinkle, a former aldermen and school teacher elected to her current post in 2010, has not ruled out a run for mayor next year, and some people have urged her to take on Emanuel.

There were far fewer divided votes under Preckwinkle than Stroger, who saw commissioners side with him 68 percent of the time on split decisions. He won approval for some of his initiatives by the slimmest of margins and even had half of his much-maligned penny-on-the-dollar sales tax increase reversed during his single term.

Unlike the controversial Stroger, Preckwinkle "has not lost any significant votes," the report states, adding that the number of divided votes has declined significantly during as her term has progressed.

Preckwinkle's most consistent opposition came from three Democrats on a board with four Republican commissioners. The most consistent Preckwinkle opponents were Bill Beavers and Earlean Collins, both of Chicago, and Joan Murphy, of Crestwood.

All three were Stroger allies. Beavers left the board in November 2012 when he was sentenced to federal prison on tax evasion charges. Collins is retiring at the end of this term.

One Republican, Peter Silvestri of Elmwood Park, sided with Preckwinkle 73 percent of the time, which was as often as Evanston Democrat Larry Suffredin. John Daley, the brother of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, sided with Preckwinkle 81 percent of the time.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel will make good tonight on his promise to join funnyman Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in exchange for Fallon taking a dunk in Lake Michigan during Chicago's historically frigid winter.